Uprising
by oneforchelsea
Summary: Another one of Azazel's 'children' come into the picture when Dean is brought back from Hell, a childhood friend that kept the secret for as long as she could. Only, like Sam, she has a very important purpose in the endgame. Dean/oc. Season4. RatedT JIC
1. Chapter 1

((Please go easy on me, Im new at this! First fic! Please Review :) ))

Ellie Kirkland ran down the abandoned hospital halls as fast as she could, slipping in semi-dried blood as she rounded the last corner before the exit. Once she got out side she unlocked her trunk, searching in panic for a release hatch inside to get to her secret compartment of knives and guns. Before she could grab anything useful she was yanked back off of her feet and hurled to the ground, yards away from her car.

"Not so quick with your hands are you?" She looked up at the porcelain face of a young woman, smiling to reveal multiple rows of extra teeth. "I honestly thought a hunter like yourself would be more fun than this. Pity."

Ellie raised her hand and without even touching her the woman flew backwards, gasping in surprise. "Who said I was done?"

Ellie jumped up and quickly got to the car and grabbed a machete, and with one clean, wide swing she removed the vampires head. She dropped the bloody weapon and sat down on the ground to catch her breath. She pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and dialed a number she knew by heart.

The phone barely rang twice before someone answered. "Hello?"

"Hey Bobby, its me. Just wasted the last of the vamps here." She could still hear her heartbeat in her ears, but Bobby was like a father to her and liked to know that she was okay.

"Good, can you come down here? Now?" She could tell there was something wrong by the way he sounded.

"Yeah, I'll just keep driving, Im not far away. Is everything alright?"

"Not sure, you'll see when you get here."

She sighed and hung up the phone, wondering what could have Bobby so worried that he couldn't tell her what was wrong over the phone.

She wiped the blood off her machete and placed it back into her trunk, then shut it and hopped into the driver's seat of her cherry red 1970 Chevelle. It roared to life and she sped out of the parking lot onto the empty highway, listening to music to keep her awake for the long road ahead.

She pulled up to Bobby's house right next to the Impala, assuming that Sam got his head out of his ass and actually came back to Bobby. She knocked on the door a few times and then turned around, taking in the warm autumn air. When she heard the door open she turned back around to a face she thought she'd never see again; Dean Winchester.

"Don't try to hit me, please. I've been through this all day." He said, putting his hands up in front of him. "It's me, no shapeshifter, no nothing, I swear."

She didn't reply, she just threw her arms around his neck and held on for a few minutes before letting go. "Dean Winchester, to hell and back and still so handsome."

"Feeling better than ever." He smiled and waved for her to come in.

(Ellie, Dean and Bobby in Bobby's car.)

(Dean flips his phone closed after talking with Sam)

"Why the hell didn't you tell him?" Bobby said, with a stern look on his face.  
"Cause he'd just try to stop us."  
"From what? "  
"Summoning this thing. "

Ellie pulled herself forward from the back seat to look Dean in the face. "What!?"  
"It's time we face it head on. "  
"You can't be serious. "  
"As a heart attack, it's high noon baby. "  
"Well, we don't know what it is, it could be a demon it could be anything."

"Well, we do know it won't kill you, Dean. That would just be a waste of time. But what about us?"  
"We gotta be ready for anything. "  
"We got the big time magic knife, you got an arsenal in the trunk. "  
"This is a bad idea. "  
"Yeah, I couldn't agree more, but what other choice do we have?"  
"We could choose life. "  
"Bobby, whatever this is, whatever it wants, it's after me, that much we know, right? Well, I got no place to hide, I can either get caught with my pants down again, or we can make our stand. "  
"Dean, we could use Sam for this. "  
"Naw, he's better off where he is."

Once they were inside the barn Bobby had chosen for the summoning, all three of them went to work on getting it ready for pretty much anything they could think of.

"We ready?" Ellie said, putting her hands in her back pocket as she looked around the large spray painted mess of a building.

"What do you say we ring the dinner bell?" Dean said, gesturing to Bobby as he then sighed and started the ritual.

All three of them sat lazily on the tables, waiting for what seemed like nothing.

"Are you sure you did it right?" Ellie said, hopping off the table and walking closer to the weapons.

"Of course I did." Bobby said, giving her that same stern look that always managed to shut her right up.

"Ok," She said, putting her hands up.

All of the sudden the wind picked up like a hurricane and it sounded like the whole barn would tip over. Light bulbs busted and the reinforced door flew open as a man in a trenchcoat calmly walked toward the three of them.

She picked up a shotgun and began shooting at him, as did Dean and Bobby. The man didn't even flinch, didn't pay any attention to any of the traps or talismans, and that frightened her. "What the hell?"

"Not hell." He said, turning to Dean, who grabbed Ruby's knife off of the table beside him.

"Who are you?" Dean said, in a demanding tone as he gripped the powerful blade tightly.

"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from Perdition."

"Yea, thanks for that." Dean said in a sarcastic manner, then plunged the magical knife into the strangers chest. When the man only responded by pulling the blade out, Dean stepped back, obviously frightened. When Bobby came at him with a crowbar, and simply grabbed it and laid two fingers on his head, and somehow Bobby was immediately knocked out.

Ellie felt a cool panic wash over her as she watched this happen. She didn't know what to do. None of them knew she was a child of Azazel, but how else was she supposed to protect herself?

"We need to talk Dean.. alone." The man said, as he walked towards Ellie and raised his hand to her as he did to Bobby. She raised her hand up as he made contact with her, ready to send him backwards, but when she tried, nothing happened. They both stood back, puzzled.

"I'll just wait outside. " She said, and hurried towards the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Ellie sat on the front of Bobby's car with her head in her hands. She knew Dean would want to know why she didn't pass out like Bobby did, and she knew she couldn't lie to him. She was also very curious as to what they were dealing with. Never had she come into contact with anything that her powers wouldn't work on. Nothing. And this frightened her.

After a while Dean came out of the barn alone and approached the car.

"What the hell happened in there? I know he didn't just change his mind and let you walk out." Dean opened the back seat of the car, throwing his armory-in-a-bag into the back seat then slammed the door shut and approached her once again.

"Well that all depends, he didn't try to kill you obviously, so maybe he is on our side?" She said and shrugged, trying to play it off.

"I saw your face. You were just as shocked as he was. Whats going on."

She sighed and rubbed her forehead, then got up. "I can't really explain it. But I'll show you." She grabbed a gun from the trunk and handed it to him. "Shoot me."

"What? How on earth would that help the situation?" He put the gun on the hood of the car.

"Ok. Another way then." She picked the gun up, stepped back a few feet and pointed the gun at him with her right hand. She held her left hand up as if to push him away and pulled the trigger but the bullet never hit him. Instead it landed in the dirt with a hard thud. He stepped back in surprise.

"You just tried to shoot me!"

"Oh come on, I've been practicing, okay. And if I wasn't sure I could do it I wouldn't have tried." She placed the gun back on the hood and sat down in the grass.

"I can't believe you kept this from me, after all this time, all that we've been through. You lied to me."

"I never lied to you, I made sure of that. I just didn't want you to worry about me like you do about Sam."

"So this means your one of Yellow eye's creepy 'children?'"

"He talked to me a few times. He wasn't ever clear about anything though. He just said I would have to take over if things didn't go as planned. That I was going to be a pretty big pawn in his endgame. But you guys ganked him. No endgame." She got up again, dusted herself off. "This stays between me and you. We can't worry about this, it doesn't even mean anything, really."

"It always means something."

The ride home was pretty quiet, but once they got back to Bobby's and Sam got back, Dean explained everything that Castiel had told him and they got to researching. Bobby and Dean took a few books and started digging around while Sam and Ellie surfed the internet for some information. When everything checked out they were still as confused as the were when Dean woke from hell.

"Well, Im going to go take a bath." Ellie got up from her chair and shut her laptop. She grabbed some clothes from her bag and proceeded to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Bobby had a pretty large bathtub so it was very easy to relax in. She filled the tub up high with hot water and bubbles and got in. She felt relaxed almost instantly and closed her eyes, thinking about everything that happened in the past day or two. It wasn't very long before the water started to get cold and as Ellie opened her eyes she saw a man standing over the bathtub. Before she could react he grabbed her throat, pushing her to the bottom. She tried hard to push him off of her but he never budged, so instead she put her hand up towards a shelf by the door and it fell over crashing to the floor. It felt like forever before Dean and Sam got the door open, and she started to lose consciousness and gave up.

Dean shot saltrounds at the man as soon as they got the door open and Sam pulled her out of the bathtub, covered her up with a towel and tried CPR on her. After a few tries the water erupted from her mouth, and she gripped Sam's shirt tight as she gasped for air. Sam hugged her tight, but she didn't have the energy to hug back and her arms fell limp.

They decided if there was something trying to kill any of them they would sleep in shifts, in the same room, and whoever was awake would try to figure out who that was and what was going on.

Dean made a pallet on the floor by the couch, and he and Ellie took first sleeping shift. He was exhausted, so it didn't take him long to get to sleep.

"This is a seal." Dean opened his eyes to see Castiel standing in the next room. "You need to stop it before too many people die."

"A seal? That's just a ghost. And what the hell is a seal anyway?"

"Think of them as locks on a door. Lilith is opening them."

"Okay, last one opens and..?"

"Lucifer walks free."

"Like the devil Lucifer?" Dean said with a laugh. "Come on."

"Did you believe in angels before you met me? Why do you think we're here on earth after all this time?"

"So the guy who tried to kill Ell.."

"Was a witness to the unnatural. Innocents who couldn't be saved."

"So there will be more?"

"Many. "

"What are we supposed to do? We can't salt and burn everyone who's seen supernatural things."

"Figure it out. We wouldn't want to lose anyone of importance."

Dean sighed and put his head down, rubbing his forehead. When he looked up again Castiel was gone. He woke up instantly, looking around to see Sam on his laptop again and Bobby deep into a stack of books. He looked up at Ellie, whose hair was matted to her face in a layer of sweat, so he took a blanket off of her to help cool her down.

"They are seals." He whispered as he walked over to Bobby and Sam. "That's what Castiel told me. Do those even exist?"

"Wouldn't hurt to check it out. We've been reading in circles over here." Bobby yawned, picking through his pile of books to find what he could about seals.

"When did you talk to Castiel?" Sam asked. He was kind of excited about the thought of meeting an angel.

"In my sleep I guess. It was weird. I didn't feel like I was asleep." Dean shrugged it off. "If what he told me is true, we've got a big problem."

"What kind of problem?" Bobby asked.

"Like Lucifer walks the earth kind of problem."


	3. Chapter 3

Dean lightly shook Ellie's shoulder to wake her up from the couch. There wasn't much need for a second shift but they needed to gather the ingredients for a spell Bobby found to get rid of the witnesses, which Dean explained to her once she was fully awake.

"So that's it? Some spell and this is over?" Ellie ran her hand through her hair and then tried to straighten her wrinkled shirt.

"Well, aside from this being part of the apocalypse.. yes."

Ellie sighed. "Okay, let's get the stuff together."

Bobby and Sam entered the room and Sam handed Ellie a gun.

"Cover each other, but don't run out of ammo until I'm done, 'kay?"

"Sounds good, what do we need?" Ellie asked as she loaded the gun with salt rounds.

"Red hex box from the linen closet upstairs."

"Got it." Sam said, as he turned and hurried upstairs.

"Hemlock, Opium and wormwood from the kitchen cutlery drawer. It's got a false bottom."

Dean laughed, "Opium?"

"Just go."

"And me?" Ellie asked.

"Salt from the basement. Enough for a good circle around us all."

She turned and headed towards the basement, and the man from the bathroom was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. Without hesitating she lifted the gun and shot. Once she had the salt, which was actually a pretty heavy bag, she headed back upstairs towards the living room. She ran into the kitchen, turning to see Dean and a man standing by the sink. She shot him and Dean gasped for air. She dashed to him to help him up and then they both ran into the library to join Sam and Bobby. She quickly made a wide salt line around them.

Bobby immediately started chanting behind them as witnesses popped up all around them. It was disturbing in a way. None of these people asked to see the things they saw. None of them deserved to die, especially in such brutal ways. Her heart ached for them, regardless of whether they realized it or not. But she knew there was nothing that could be done, so she just kept shooting.

Then she heard Bobby gasp. She turned around to see a young woman peering from over Bobby's shoulder. He looked terrified, and she smiled as she shoved her arm deeper into his back. "Dean, fireplace!"

Dean took a dive for the bowl and caught it just before it hit the ground, then threw it into the flames. A bright light filled the entire room for a moment, and there was quiet. Nothing but the sound of them catching their breath.

The next morning Sam woke up to a smell he thought he might be dreaming about. He sleepily walked into the kitchen to see Ellie frying some bacon at the stove. He sat down at the table. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Cooking you boys a real meal. If ghosts and demons don't kill you, what you've been eating will." She laughed and made him a plate.

"So bacon is a lot healthier?"

"We'll start light." She sat down across from him.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"I know what you're going to say. He was an ex of mine, and he got killed. That's really all I want to share, I'm sorry Sam."

"That's alright. Just want to make sure you're okay and all." He half-smiled like he always does, then shoved a forkful into his mouth.

Dean barged into the kitchen. "Food?" He looked at Ellie and Sam. "Real food?" He made his plate, which ended up as a balancing act to get it to the table. "So what are we going to do about these seals?" He said, through a mouthful of food.

"We'll take whatever comes our way until your angel friends figure something out." Ellie sipped on some tea, then got up and started dishes.

"Heh, some friends. We could have been killed."

"It would just be nice to have some- 'spiritual' guidance."

"Well, don't wait too long for them to help, they weren't too worried about you when it came time to do the spell." Ellie stood up and brushed off her lap, then started to gather empty dishes from the table. "Anyway, Im gonna run to the shooting range for a bit."

"I'll go with you." Dean said, after shoveling the last of his food into his mouth.

The drive to the range was nice. Dean caught up on a lot of the stuff that happened while he was gone, and Ellie really just enjoyed the conversation. She'd rather talk about things that happened instead of trying to figure out things that would happen. And she loved going to the shooting range, it was like a spa day for her; nice and relaxing.

Once she was there, aiming at the target gripping the gun hard in her tiny hands, she was home. Everything else kind of disappeared and she was completely comfortable. Once her clips were empty she turned around absentmindedly and slammed into a hard body.

"Damnit Dean-" She said bending down to pick up her bag but as she saw his shoes and the bottom of a familiar trenchcoat she stopped. All she could think about is how she's supposed to be fighting for the other team. That's what Azazel's 'gift' was for. "Listen, if you've come to kill me just don't do it in front of him."

"Why would I kill you?" Castiel said as he stretched out his arm to help her up.

"Well- I- Why do you have to pop up so close?"

"I-"

"What the hell are you doing here? We could have used you yesterday!" Dean walked over, swinging his gun around to his back. "You know? Breaking of the seals? I know you didn't forget."

"No, I didn't. I was tied up with other matters. I can't be everywhere at once."

"Yea well, Dean and Bobby almost died." She put one hand on her hip, waiting for some explanation.

He tilted his head a bit. "As did you. We had orders not to help. We needed to see how you worked as a team. You didn't disappoint. We'll need you both again soon. Be careful." Before they knew it he was gone again, and it kind of pissed her off.

"I'm glad we're supposed to jump when HE needs us, but then where is he when we need him?" She walked to the car and put her stuff in the trunk, then plopped into the passenger seat.

"Well, I need a beer." Dean said, and sped off onto the road again.


	4. Chapter 4

I am terribly sorry at how late this chapter is. It's just taken me a while to get the motivation to get back into it, and to figure out exactly what I'm going to do with it in the first place. This chapter might seem a little weird, but I changed the direction entirely.  
Instead of her being in a relationship with Cas, it will be with Dean. She will be closer with Cas than the others though, so don't think he won't show up eventually. TYTYTY - Chelsea.

WARNING: Mushy scene! D:

That night they decided it was time to take a break, just to enjoy the fact that they were all together again, which was something they never expected to happen. Earlier that night Sam had done some digging around and found a job in the next state that they could head out to in the morning, but for the meantime they decided to relax.

They were pretty surprised when they walked into the bar. For such a small town, there were a lot of drinkers, and the bar was packed. Sam and Ellie went straight to the bar and Dean found some girl in a tube top a few tables away.

"It's really nice to see you, Ellie. It's been a while." Sam said after he ordered their drinks.

"Yeah it is," She replied and smiled at him. "It just would have been nice if you called 4 months ago. I'm not saying I don't understand, I'm just saying, I missed you. And it would have been nice to know you were alive."

"I know, and I'm sorry." He reached his arm over and hugged her from the side.

She smiled and turned around in her bar stool to look in Dean's direction. "So what's on the menu for Dean tonight?"

"Apparently, skank." Sam took a drink of his beer and looked around. Ellie only replied by taking an enormous swig of the beer in front of her and letting out a small sigh. "Um, are you surprised?"

"Pff, no." She gave Sam a side glance and then shook her head. "I just thought maybe the second time around he'd value things like sex a little bit more." She glanced in Dean's direction again, catching his eye this time, and took another swig of her beer. "Or maybe set the bar a little bit higher. Anyway, I'm gonna go home and rest, maybe veg a little bit. I'll see you in the morning when we head out." She finished her beer and grabbed her wallet from the bar, waving to Sam on her way out.

She snuck into Bobby's front door, as she figured he'd be crashed out on the couch beside a pile of books and a half eaten meal. She took his plate to the kitchen, cleaning up as she went and then made her way upstairs to one of the guest bedrooms. She decided to take a quick shower and when she got out she noticed she had a text from Dean. _Are you okay? –D. _ He was probably curious as to why she left without saying anything, and honestly, she wasn't sure why she did either. She was glad he was back, she really was, but there was something else.

When she found out he was sent to hell in the first place she couldn't handle it. She shut herself off completely and only focused on hunts. She'd known them as long as she could remember and to lose Dean was heartbreaking. She put those thoughts in the back of her mind and got into some comfortable clothes to sleep in. She tied her her up in a bun and replied to his text. _Im fine, see you in the am. –E _ She crawled under her blankets and put her headphones in to fall asleep. She was nearly asleep when she felt a weigh on the side of her bed. In a half-sleeping panic she sat up and searched in the dark for the knife she hid under her pillow.

"Ell, it's okay, it's Dean." He flicked on a small bedside lamp and she turned her head away, rubbing her eyes. "That's why I didn't turn the light on. It's a good thing you're clumsy when you're sleepy, because I know you hide this under your pillow." He picked up a small knife off the floor and held it up.

She grabbed the knife from him and put it back under her pillow. "What are you doing here? I figured you'd be in some hotel or trailer house somewhere. Where's Miss tube top?"

"Eh, I left her at the bar. I kinda worried about you when you left. Is everything okay? You don't usually pass up the opportunity to sit and enjoy a few good beers."

Ellie rolled up her headphones and laid back down. "I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me. It's just been a long week, but you could understand that more than anyone."

"Yeah, I guess. Maybe I'm reading into things too much, it just seems like there's something else going on." He kicked his shoes off, and took his jacket and t-shirt off and laid on the bed beside her. He grabbed her hand and her heart started to race and at that point she was glad the light was dim because she was sure she was blushing. "I can't remember anything, but I'm sure I missed you, and I'm sorry things got so complicated."

It seemed like nothing really hit her until he started talking about being gone, and the rush of emotions she had was overwhelming. Once the tears started falling, she couldn't stop them. "I felt so empty when you were gone, I can't pretend like nothing happened. I missed you so much."

"I know, if I could change it all I would, and we tried for a year to find a way, but it just couldn't happen."

"It's like there's nothing different about you. I mean, aside from this," She put her hand on the print on his shoulder, "Everything's the same. You smile the same, you smell the same, I'm so glad."

"I'll never change."

"You better not." She wiped the tears from her face and playfully punched him in the arm.

Dean leaned over and grabbed her ipod, "I've missed music." He put an earbud in one of Ellie's ears and one of his own and turned it on to "Thank you" by Led Zeppelin, and before they knew it they were both sound asleep.

When Ellie woke up in the morning she rolled over and looked at the time on her phone, it was 9:53. She rarely ever slept in that late so she quietly rolled out of bed so that she didn't wake Dean yet. She changed into a slouchy black tee and some gray pinstripe shorts and ran a come through her hair. She went downstairs, only to find that she was the only one awake, which didn't surprise her in a house full of men. Once she started cooking breakfast was when people started waking up, starting with Bobby.

"Breakfast, twice in a week. How am I so spoiled?" He said, as he started to move the piles of books from the kitchen table.

"Must be good karma," Ellie smirked and handed him a stack of plates and silverware.

Bobby snickered and set the table, and once he was done he joined Ell at the stove."I know you kids are leaving today, so just be careful and make sure you check in. Now that you're all back to hunting together I wanna make sure we keep in touch regularly."

"We will, mom." Dean snickered as he and Sam joined the two in the kitchen.

"We will, I promise. And how convenient that the two of you come down when everything is already cooked and the table is set?" Ellie and Bobby brought the mountain shaped plates of food to the table and sat down.

"Just good timing?" Sam said, flashing a quick smile.

"Don't try to use the dimples to get out of dishes."


	5. Chapter 5

A few weeks had passed and Ellie continued to hunt with the Winchesters. She was confused about Dean's signals, unsure of whether he thought of her as a sister, more, or maybe he didn't think of her at all. She switched between over thinking it and feeling childish for doing so. Either way, she didn't even really know how SHE even felt about it. Is it wrong to think of him that way? While she had a hard time compensating for her loneliness, Dean had no trouble with the occasional gas stop hussy, so she decided to bring her car along on the jobs.

She knocked on their hotel room door after packing up her own stuff and loading up her car, hoping that Sam was awake and possibly had found a case. Of course he was, and had.

"Hey, I think I found a case, come look." Sam waved for her to come in the door, and she noticed Dean hadn't woken up yet.

"Awesome, I was hoping you found something. Late night?" She gestured to Dean, who was sprawled out under sheets that only partially covered him.

"For him yeah, I woke up and he was just getting into bed. I swear one of these days he's gonna regret these girls."

She let out a small forced snicker and changed the subject. "So what's the case?"

"Right, a 44 year old marathon runner has a heart attack, third in a week. Think it's worth a look?"

"It's strange, wouldn't hurt to check it out anyway."

They decided to go get breakfast and by the time they got back Dean was showered and ready to go.

"Got you something for the road," Sam tossed a bag of food onto the bed beside Dean's bags. "Ready to go?"

When they got there Dean and Sam went straight to the morgue to check out the body while Ellie checked into a room and started digging on the victims. She was a little upset, as she always was whenever Dean would spend the night with some random girl from a bus stop or wherever he could find one. On the other hand, she not only didn't know exactly how she felt, but if she did what would she even say? She decided to just focus on the research instead of thinking about a relationship that would more than likely never happen. Before she knew it the guys were back and they didn't have very good news.

"Ghost sickness? Are you shitting me?"

"Completely serious. Bobby is trying to figure it out too, but we need to keep an eye on Dean. Apparently shady teenagers are something we should be worrying about." Sam took a swig of a beer and sat down on the couch with a book.

"Fill me in."

Once Sam and Bobby came up with a plan, Sam headed out and Ellie stayed with Dean. By now Dean was so afraid that they couldn't even watch TV.

"Do you think it'll work?" Dean's eyes were wide and she could see the sheer terror in his face.

"Of course it will, has Sam ever let us down? Stop worrying, you're gonna be fine."

"I have less than an hour and-" The door burst open and Sheriff Britton came into their room pointing a gun at Dean.

"Why are you investigating Luther Garland's death? Frank O'Brien was my friend. So he made a mistake, so I didn't bust him. So what? And you're gonna bring me down over that? No, sir." He raised the gun at Dean and Ellie instinctively used her 'gift' to push the gun from his hand. He fell to his knees and Dean rushed over to help him, but it was too late to calm him down and his heart eventually stopped.

"This is gonna happen to me, I'm next!"

Ellie laid on the bed and gestured for Dean to do the same. "No matter what you see or hear, just know you're really here with me, you're okay, we're okay. You're not gonna die again."

He closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them again, Lilith was laying in the bed between him. "Hi, Dean."

"Huh, no! No!"

"Dean? It's not real, listen to me!" She could tell time was running out and she was getting worried that maybe Sam wouldn't make it this time.

Dean pushed himself off the bed and into the corner, saying things that didn't make sense, and constantly scratching at his arms. Ellie rushed over to him and grabbed him, "Stop, calm down, just breathe, okay?" She held him as tight as she could, as if her being in between him and what he was seeing would help. She could feel his heart pounding faster and harder by the second until finally it stopped. She sat back in shock, and a million thoughts rushed through her head at the same time. After what seemed like an eternity he gasped and his eyes shot open, and by that time tears were pouring from her eyes and she threw her arms around him. "Oh my god! I love you!"

By the time she realized what she said neither of them knew how to react, so she let go and sat back against the bed. There was a dead silence until Sam called to check on them.

They went to the bar before leaving town, as they usually did after a hunt, so Ellie got a chance to talk to Sam about what happened.

"You said you loved him?"

"Well, yeah but it kinda just came out. I mean, he's been dying a lot lately and I got a little emotional."

"Well, are you sure you don't? I mean, it's obvious that there's something there with the way you look at him. Are you sure this wasn't a moment of clarity?"

"I don't know anymore. Does it matter? What if we fail to stop whatever the hell is going on here? It's not like we'd ever have a picket fence kind of life, so what's the point?"

"We're gonna figure something out okay? Don't worry." Sam pushed another beer her direction. "But you should talk to him, because if you don't it's gonna be really awkward for the both of you." He made that little half smile of his and she knew he was right.

He was at the jukebox, so she walked over and leaned on the side, "Hey, I need to talk to you."

"Yeah, same here."

"About today, it was- it was nothing okay? I'm sorry if I made it awkward but you die a lot and I got a little emotional, and anyway, stop dying, okay?"

"Oh okay," He forced a little snicker. "I'll try. Hey I found a few hunts for us if you're interested?"

"Actually I think I'm gonna break off for a little while, if that's cool? I think I just need some me time. Call me if you get in any trouble, okay? You have my number." She smiled and gave him a hug and a peck on the cheek, and she did the same with Sam.


	6. Chapter 6

**WOW, this story hasn't been updated in forever, and I'm not the best or the most dedicated writer so I apologize! I can't say these hiatuses won't happen again, because they very well could, but please read and review! I'd like to know what you think if you happen to be reading!**

**Life has been very busy, and has taken a new direction for me. I am a newly certified fitness instructor! So maybe I'll have time to write again when insomnia hits. ;) Let me know what you think!**

The next few weeks were lonely for Ellie, even though she still texted the boys every day. She didn't know what made her feel lonelier, being with them or without them, and her going solo for clarity didn't help anything.

Sam called her about a girl named Anna, who was apparently a pretty big deal, so she packed up her bags and made her way to her car when she heard footsteps behind her. By the time she gripped her pistol she was outnumbered by 10 or 12 demons. She put her hands out to use her power to push them away so she could defend herself, but one in particular seemed to be immune to her. He had a much more sinister aura than the rest of them, and she knew she was up against more than she could handle on her own.

"That was cute, but you should save your energy. We're not gonna kill you yet, but we've got plans for you." His voice was terrifying in a way she couldn't explain, and the only thing she could think of was whether or not she would see Dean again.

She fought as hard as she could and killed a few of them, but in the end they were stronger in numbers. They knocked her out and when she woke up she had chains around her wrists with a metal bar piercing her palms. She was hanging from the rafters with her feet in a bucket of water that had jumper cables attached to it.

"I would say I'm sorry about your hands, but I'm not." The same man flipped a switch and suddenly she could feel electricity passing through her body, and all of her muscles flexed uncontrollably. Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest and sharp pains throbbed in her head. Once it stopped she fell limp from weakness and she fought to catch her breath. "I know those Winchester boys will want you two back, but I'm gonna have some fun with you anyway." She looked over at a table where a brunette was strapped down. She already had cuts all over her and the man walked over to her and removed her gag.

"Ruby, Ruby, Ruby." He made a tsk sound and cut into her flesh with the engraved knife.

"Alistair, I know what you want from me. You're not gonna get it."

"Tell me where that angel is." He continued to cut as he talked, as if he were crafting something while having a casual conversation.

"No, I tell you, you kill me, but I'll show you, if you bring her too."

After a long night of anticipation, Dean, Sam, and Anna were finally face to face with Castiel and Uriel again. Dean was made to choose between Anna and Sam, and as always, Sam was the one he chose to protect. But as Castiel and Uriel prepared to kill her, Alistair appeared with two demons along with Ruby and Ellie.

"Don't you touch a hair on that poor girl's head."

Dean's stomach sank when he saw Ellie in the condition she was in. She was unconscious, and there was blood all over her hands and arms. He had almost forgotten about what was going on and noticed that Alastair was exorcising Castiel. He raised a crowbar and hit him with all of his strength. After interrupting the exorcism and saving Castiel, he ran to Ellie and tried to wake her up.

"Ellie, wake up!" He lifted her head with one hand and gently shook her shoulder with the other, and her eyes were so heavy that she could only keep them open for a second or two before she closed them again.

Behind him Anna had retained her grace and in a slight moment the big battle was over. Alastair and the other demons were gone, and the angels quickly left.

"What took you so long! She's almost dead! And why is she involved anyway?" Dean was pissed and his words were meant to cut at Ruby, as if it were her fault that Ellie was in this condition.

"Sorry I'm late with the demon delivery, we were only being tortured. And she's only here to sweeten the pot. Alastair likes to share the wealth and make everyone suffer. Also, I didn't even have to protect her, I could have just saved myself."

Sam intervened, "Thank you Ruby, from all three of us, but we've got to get her to an emergency room, fast."

When Ellie awoke she was in a hospital bed, attached to multiple heart monitors and machines, and it took her a second to remember why. The events leading to her unconscious state rushed through her head, yet she was still unclear as to what all had transpired. She looked around the room, finding Sam and Dean on separate cots in the already cramped room. She decided to get up to use the bathroom, not realizing the extent of her condition and when her feet hit the floor the rest of her body followed, ripping her IV out while waking Sam and Dean. She winced in pain and covered the exit wound with the opposite hand. Her muscles were so sore and her heart raced from the panic, leaving her on the floor beside the bed completely drained of what little energy she had.

Sam lifted her back onto her bed as gently as he could, "Are you okay? Why did you rip out your IV? Do you remember anything? How do you feel?"

"I feel terrible, it was an accident, and I only remember being tortured and not much else. Can you help me to the bathroom please?"

"I'm so sorry you were ever involved Ellie, we should have never called you. I'm so so sorry." Dean wrapped his arm around her and lifted her up, weaving around the machines and fold out cots while making his way to the bathroom. "I'm so glad you're alive." He kissed her forehead and set her on her feet in the bathroom, not fully letting go until she was steady.

"Torture kinda comes with the job, we all know that." She held on to the bar attached to the wall, steadying herself as Dean gave an unsure smirk and left the small bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Her heart fluttered but she couldn't tell if it was because she was with Dean once again or if it was a symptom of the electroshock.

When she had used the restroom, she studied herself in the mirror. She had deep black burn marks and red vein-like marks all over her body. Every muscle ached more than she could handle and the dark circles under her eyes made her look like she was death incarnate. When she left the bathroom a nurse was waiting to reinsert her IV and she looked down, noticing most of her arm was now covered in blood.

"Please be careful this time? If you need help with anything just push this button," The nurse gestured to a remote connected to the side of her bed after working on her arm, "I'll come help you with anything you need." She gave a quick smile and left the room.

Ellie sighed and looked at Sam and Dean, "So when do we get to leave?" She let out a small unreciprocated giggle. "Wow okay, seriously I wanna leave."

"Hey I'm gonna get us some food." Sam grabbed his wallet and the keys to the Impala, leaving in a hurry, shutting the door behind him.

"So you're gonna let him leave in the Impala and you're not going to argue? Please tell me what's wrong." Her heart started to race and she felt weaker with every beat.

"They're saying you won't get to leave. That your heart is damaged and that if you leave and something happens, anything really, it could kill you. You've been placed on a transplant list but Sam and I are looking for other options." He placed his hand on hers and moved to sit on the bed beside her.

"A transplant list? I knew this job would end up killing me but I never imagined it would end like this." She couldn't help but cry, thinking that she should have gotten away from hunting a long time ago, but at the same time not regretting it considering all the time she had spent with Dean, Sam and Bobby.

"Don't say that, we're gonna help you. There are options."

"Like what? Making another deal with a crossroads demon? I won't let you do that again. Not for me, not for anyone."

They heard a flutter of wings and Castiel appeared at her bedside. Dean was immediately enraged. "Did you come to see the collateral damage?"

"I came to fix it." He extended two of his fingers to Ellie's forehead and in a fraction of a second her entire body changed. No burn marks, no veiny bruises, no pain. The flutter in her heart had gone away and she was just as healthy as she had been a week ago. Castiel looked at her and his stern and focused looked changed for a second, looking almost apologetic, and then he disappeared.

"That was incredible," She reached out her arms seeing not so much as a scratch on her pale skin.

"Why did it work on you this time and not before whenever we first met him?" Dean grabbed his bag, pulling out some clothes they had brought for her from her car.

"I don't know but I'm gonna figure it out." She gestured for Dean to turn around so she could change, and like a gentleman, he did. "Look, I can't do this with you anymore. I can't pretend that the only feelings I have for you are platonic. You make me wanna scream and laugh and cry at the same time. I don't know what to do with myself when you're around."

Dean leaned forward off the side of the bed, resting his chin on his hands. "I saw you in that barn, and it looked like you were dead, and for a long while, I wished I was too."

She finished getting dressed and sat back on the bed, resting a hand on his shoulder and tugging lightly to turn him around. He faced her now, his green eyes parallel to hers, and she kissed him without thinking about it. It wasn't a peck, wasn't a hormone fueled makeout, but a kiss that you would experience after meeting a long past lover. Like the only thing going on in the entire world is that one kiss, and it's the only thing that's right. He rested a hand on the side of her neck, pushing her hair back gently.

"I wanna try this with you. We've been through too much to not give ourselves a shot together." Ellie rested her hands on his chest, sighing in anxiety as she anticipated his response.


End file.
